Mark Buerhrle, who finished his career with Blue Jays, may have a Hall of Fame case

A crafty lefty. A durable workhorse. A stocky southpaw that kept hitters guessing. Those are just some of the ways the 6-foot-2, 240 pound Mark Buehrle was described over the course of his 16-year MLB career that saw him play with the Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays.

Buehrle's name is on the Hall of Fame ballot for a sixth time this year and earned 11.3% of the vote in 2025. That was his highest total after getting 8.3% in 2024, 10.8% in '23, 5.8% in '22 and 11% in his first year on the ballot in '21. He's got a long way to go to reach that 75% threshold, but his case deserves a more detailed look.

Mark Buerhrle, who finished his career with Blue Jays, may have a Hall of Fame case

Buehrle was a guy who felt like a throwback in an era where power pitching was becoming more of the norm. It's not like it is today where seemingly every team has multiple guys that can reach 98+ mph, but Buerhle didn't need the high velocity to fool hitters.

His fastball averaged in the 85-87 mph range, but he used a deceptive mix of pitches that included a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, curve and changeup that he used to pound the zone and force hitters to get themselves out. It's one of the reasons some of his numbers don't jump off the page as Buehrle relied on his defence a ton - but he was also one of the most durable and dependable starters of his generation.

He debuted in 2000 with the White Sox and pitched in 28 games, mostly out of the bullpen. But in 2001 he started a streak that lasted right up until his final season, with the Blue Jays in 2015. That streak was throwing at least 200 innings a season and making at least 30 starts a year. He got to the 30 start plateau in '15, while helping the Blue Jays reach the playoffs for the first time since 1993, but he came up just a few outs shy of the 200 inning mark, with 198.2.

It's a remarkable achievement considering only six other pitchers in the Modern Era have managed to have 14 consecutive seasons or more with 200 innings pitched, and all of them are in the Hall of Fame. They include Christy Mathewson (1901-14), Warren Spahn (1947-63), Gaylord Perry (1966-80), Greg Maddux (1988-2001), Phil Niekro (1967-80) and Don Sutton (1966-80). Further to that his career totals of 214 wins in 518 games and 3,283.1 innings has only been achieved by three other pitchers since the year 2000.

Buerhle is also one of the best defensive pitchers of his age, racking up a career 87 Defensive Runs Saved, tied with Zack Grienke over that span. He also only allowed 59 stolen bases against him over his career. Buerhle and his catchers produced a 57.9% caught stealing percentage which is double the league average of 29% during his career, while he also picked off 102 baserunners, which is ranked the fourth best mark since that stat was tracked starting in 1974.

Unfortunately for Buerhle, defense and durability are two of the most over looked attributes on a players resume. For whatever reason most baseball observers, and the voters, don't rank these qualities as highly as they do as offensive production or strikeout totals, even though they are just as important to a teams win. Buerhle only had 1,870 strikeouts, but on the flip side forced hitters into 362 double plays. One could argue that's a much more effective and efficient way to get outs. It takes just two pitches to get two-outs with a double play (single to one batter, ground ball DP to the next) while it takes at least three to strike a hitter out.

These are some of the areas that make baseball so unique while frustrating at the same time. So many players bring different qualities to the game that can help a team win, but if they aren't putting up gold standard numbers in the traditional statistics categories, they often get ignored. One of the other areas that gets a huge emphasis placed on it when it comes to voting is, "was this player a winner?"

Buerhle can claim that he was a winner. He helped the White Sox capture the World Series crown in 2005, their first title since 1917. He's also just one of six pitchers in MLB history to have thrown both a perfect game and a no-hitter. On April 18, 2007, Buerhle got through the Texas Rangers order with only one miscue, a fifth-inning walk to Sammy Sosa, who was immediately picked off. Then on July 23, 2009, Buerhle faced 27 Tampa Bay Rays batters and retired each one of them in order, to record the 18th perfect game in MLB history.

While he may not have the numbers that jump off the page, Buerhle's underlying attributes and performances during his era were some of the best in the game's history and certainly give him a case for being considered as a Hall of Fame player. The final ballot for the 2026 class will be revealed on Jan. 20.